Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

The back alley opposite the Golden Harvest Building in Central.

Inside the van disguised as a "Cathay Power" engineering vehicle, the air was so stuffy it was almost suffocating, a mixture of cheap cigarettes, leftover hamburgers, and the sweat of two grown men.

"Tsk tsk... Great, this fabric is nice. We can use this for the main designs next season..."

The sound of Lu Chen and Laura discussing clothing fabrics came through the headphones; it was mundane, even a little boring.

"Damn it, they're talking about work again!" Yang Zhen irritably ripped off her headphones and slammed them onto the control panel. "Is Lu Chen made of iron? I listened to him in meetings all day yesterday, and then he went to that designer's house last night, and they spent the whole evening talking about drawings? Not even a kiss! Is he a saint?"

Lu Chen didn't return to the villa in Youyicun last night. In order not to worry the naive Ruan Mei, and also to prevent her acting skills from being exposed, he directly invited Laura to the long-stay room at the Peninsula Hotel last night.

Of course, nothing happened that night, since Lu Chen didn't have the special fetish of letting two grown men "listen to his bed." He simply held Laura and chatted with her all night about Garreau's next season's designs, leaving the two eavesdropping guys scratching their heads in frustration.

"Be patient," Liang Junyi said, adjusting his glasses. Although he looked focused, his fatigue was evident in his expression. "The target is very cautious; that's normal."

"Ah Yi, you said..." Yang Zhen lowered her voice, glancing at the closed car door, "Are we really okay doing this?"

Liang Junyi's fingers paused for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"Stop pretending, you've sensed it too, haven't you?" Yang Zhen pointed to the pile of equipment in front of them. "This equipment isn't registered at all, and even the serial numbers have been worn off. There's no search warrant for this operation, and even our direct superior, A-Guang, doesn't know we're doing this. If something goes wrong..."

Yang Zhen made a throat-slitting gesture: "We're just scapegoats."

Liang Junyi fell silent.

As a key technical member of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau (CIB), he was more aware than Yang Zhen of the extent of the irregularities in this operation. This was a clandestine operation orchestrated by the Political Department beyond its authority; if exposed, they would face not only dismissal and investigation, but possibly even imprisonment in Stanley.

"Don't overthink it. Do you think we can back out now that things have come to this? Let's get to work," Liang Junyi sighed, putting his headphones back on. His voice was a little hoarse. "We're just tools for carrying out orders. The foreigners tell us to listen, so we listen. As long as we don't hear anything we shouldn't, we should... be fine, right?"

However, what they didn't know was that their every move, even every complaint, was being clearly transmitted to Lu Chen's specially made receiver hundreds of meters away.

That's right, they were being wiretapped.

……

At this moment, on the top floor of the Jiahe Building.

Lu Chen turned off the receiver, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Two pathetic scapegoats."

He turned around and looked at the woman standing in front of him, who looked somewhat nervous.

"Are you ready?" Lu Chen asked.

"Mm." Hu Huizhong took a deep breath and nodded. After yesterday's "char siu rice baptism," she was now completely on Lu Chen's side.

Lu Chen took out a silver metal box, about the size of a lighter, from the drawer.

"This is a military-grade recorder," Lu Chen placed the recorder in Hu Huizhong's palm. "It can record for up to ten hours, with clear sound quality, and it cannot be detected by ordinary detectors. Hide it well. Remember, don't be afraid. You just need to guide him to tell the truth."

Lu Chen gently straightened her collar: "If anything happens, press the signal transmitter, and my men will come in to rescue you."

"Okay!" Hu Huizhong gripped the recorder tightly, her eyes resolute.

……

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Wan Chai, Police Building, Assistant Commissioner's Office.

"Fxxk! Fxxk!!" Richard roared, slamming a worthless wiretapped report onto the table. "Two days! Two whole days! And this is all I heard? Fabric? Design? I need incriminating evidence! Drugs! Arms deals!!"

"Huh!" Richard, having vented his anger, pulled two more black listening devices from the drawer and slammed them heavily on the table. "The first one's dead. You can have these two!"

Richard stared at Sibelle Hu with a sinister look in his eyes. "This time, I want you to take the initiative! You can use your... physical advantage... to induce him to say something outrageous! For example, his dissatisfaction with the Hong Kong British government, or an admission that he has killed someone! Even if it's just a recording, everything is negotiable!"

"Sir!" Hu Huizhong suddenly raised her head, her face filled with shock and resistance. "This...this is inducement! Our current actions are already against regulations, and if we continue like this, we will be suspected of breaking the law..."

"Illegal? Ha!" Richard said as if he had heard a joke. He walked around the desk, stood in front of Hu Huizhong, and poked her shoulder with his finger. "Inspector Hu, you're too naive."

"Here, in this colony, who is the law?" Richard spread his arms, his expression extremely arrogant. "We are the British Empire! We are the law! The courts? Those judges are all our men! If I want, I can turn white into black, and send that Lu guy to jail for life!"

"But……"

"No buts!" Richard interrupted her. "You need to understand who's paying your salary now! That Lu Chen dares to go against the British conglomerate, dares to go against the Hong Kong British government—that's a death sentence for him! I'll make sure his family is ruined, and make him kneel before the Queen's portrait in repentance!"

At this point, Richard's tone shifted, and he began to make grand promises: "Hu, if you succeed in this, I guarantee you'll be promoted three ranks and become the youngest female inspector in the history of the police force. I can even help you apply for a no-stay-at-home passport, making you a true 'upper class' person."

"On the contrary..." Richard's face instantly darkened. "If you don't do it, or dare to play tricks, your desk will be cleared out tomorrow, and your file will be stained with a stain that can never be washed away. You will become a disgrace to the police force, and I guarantee you won't even be able to work as a security guard!"

Looking at that ugly face, Hu Huizhong's last bit of trust in the higher-ups vanished.

"I understand, sir."

Hu Huizhong took a deep breath, picked up the bugging device on the table, her eyes "firm," and said, "To prevent Japan from ever surpassing the Empire."

"Good girl." Richard waved with satisfaction.

Unbeknownst to him, every single word of his boastful remarks had been clearly recorded by the listening device in his pocket.

……

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

Central, pier.

Lu Chen sat in the bulletproof black Mercedes, toying with the voice recorder that Hu Huizhong had just given him.

Richard's voice, "We are the law," and "Let his family be destroyed," was crystal clear in the headphones.

"Heh, how cooperative," Lu Chen took off his headphones, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "With this, Richard, you'll have no choice but to die."

"Boss, the hook is moving."

The driver in the front seat, Tian Yangsheng, glanced at the rearview mirror. "That cleaning company truck has been following us. Also, we just intercepted their radio signal; they reported their location to their superiors."

"To whom should we report?"

"Cai Yuanqi".

"Hehe..." Lu Chen nodded. This future Commissioner of Police truly lived up to his reputation as the most loyal dog of the foreigners, always working so hard in the face of Richard's instructions.

"Let's go to Lantau Island," Lu Chen rolled down the car window and lit a cigarette. "Since we've followed him all this way, we should at least treat him to a cup of tea."

……

Half an hour later.

A car ferry bound for Lantau Island slowly departed from Central Ferry Pier.

Because it was a weekday afternoon, there weren't many vehicles on the ferry. Besides Lu Chen's black Mercedes, there was only a gray van following behind, and seven or eight seemingly ordinary private cars parked around it.

Inside the truck.

"strangeness……"

Looking at the empty sea around her, Yang Zhen suddenly felt uneasy. "What is Lu Chen doing on Lantau Island? And why is he taking this slow car ferry?"

"Maybe they went to Po Lin Monastery to burn incense?" Leung Chun-yee wasn't sure either. He held up his walkie-talkie and said, "Officer Choi, the target boarded the ferry to Lantau Island. We've caught up with them, and the signal is good so far."

"Continue surveillance, but don't expose yourself," came Cai Yuanqi's cold voice from the walkie-talkie.

"receive."

Liang Junyi put down the walkie-talkie and glanced at the lone black Mercedes in front of him.

Sudden.

"Clang!"

The ferry's massive iron gates slowly rose, sealing the exit. The ship trembled and began to accelerate away from the port.

at the same time.

The doors of the seven or eight various private cars that were originally parked around the truck opened almost simultaneously.

"Splash—"

Three or four men in black suits with stern expressions got out of each car. They moved in unison and instantly surrounded the gray van.

"Oh no! An ambush!!"

Yang Zhen was shocked and instinctively reached for the gun at his waist.

"Thump, thump".

The driver's side window was knocked on.

Yang Zhen turned his head and saw a man wearing sunglasses pointing a dark Glock pistol at his head.

Tian Yangyi looked at him coldly and made a "get off the bus" gesture.

"Don't move," Liang Junyi said, pressing down on Yang Zhen's hand as he drew his gun, his face pale. "Look around."

Yang Zhen looked around.

There were at least thirty gunmen standing on the deck of the ferry. And judging from their positions and the way they held their guns, they were definitely not ordinary gangsters, but rather highly trained paramilitary personnel.

The two of them only had two .38 rifles; if they resisted, they would be riddled with bullets.

"Get out of the car." Liang Junyi sighed, raised his hands, and pushed open the car door.

The two men were roughly searched, their guns were removed, and they were then led to the black Mercedes.

The sea breeze howled, making their clothes flutter loudly.

"Click".

The rear door of the Mercedes-Benz opened.

A shiny leather shoe stepped onto the deck.

Lu Chen, wearing a dark gray trench coat and with a cigar in his mouth, slowly walked down the ship. He didn't look at the two policemen with guns pointed at him, but instead walked to the railing and looked at the Hong Kong skyline gradually shrinking in the distance.

"The scenery here is nice; it's a good place to discuss business, and also... a good place to kill and dispose of a body."

Lu Chen exhaled a smoke ring, turned around, and his gaze swept across the two faces like a blade.

"Officer Liang, Officer Yang, let's talk."

The two men raised their hands, their faces deathly pale. They glanced at the ferry boats that had been booked out, then looked at the vast sea.

This time, we really failed.